Fidel Castro to Obama: not so fast

Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 2:48 PM
Filed Under: Havana, Cuba

HAVANA – President Barack Obama may have charmed audiences all around the world and been all smiles with strongmen such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez – but don’t count Fidel Castro as one of his fans.

In his latest blog, posted last evening, the former Cuban president took issue with a number of remarks Obama made during a Sunday news conference at the close of the Summit of the Americas.

Castro accused the president of "arrogance" and "superficiality" while also criticizing his support of Washington’s trade embargo on the island, stating Obama has now made the "failed" policy "his own."

The 82-year-old Castro also said that Obama had "interpreted badly" statements and supposed signals of conciliation from his brother Raúl, now president, who recently remarked that his government was willing to discuss "everything" with the Obama administration, including "human rights, press freedoms and political prisoners."

Javier Galeano / AP

An employee of the Defense of the Revolution Committee reads an issue of the Cuban newspaper Granma next to an image of Fidel Castro in Havana on Wednesday.

The apparent openness of that statement, made last Thursday during a meeting of leftist leaders in Venezuela, sparked speculation both in the United States and here in Cuba that the two adversaries could be heading to the negotiating table.  

Obama even characterized Raúl Castro’s remarks as an "advance" and underscored that he was encouraged by them.

But he then called on Havana to free political prisoners and to slash the official exchange rate of the U.S. dollar on family remittances.

And that clearly riled Fidel Castro.

Sending another volley back
Justifying the 2003 jailing of 75 opposition figures, the retired leader repeated the charge made during their trials: that the dissidents were agents paid by the U.S. to destabilize his government. He wrote that they were "at the service of a foreign power that threatens and blockades our country."

He also defended the 10 percent tax that Cuban government banks charge to process family remittances in U.S. dollars, saying "not all Cubans have family living abroad who can send remittances. It’s absolutely just to redistribute a relatively small part to those who are in the most need of food, medicines and other necessities."

Cuban banks started charging the fee in January 2007 as a response to stepped-up U.S. sanctions. After the U.S. Federal Reserve levied a $100 million fine on a Swiss bank charged with violating American sanctions by handling U.S. dollars from Cuba, Havana decided to stop accepting U.S. dollars and moved to discourage the dollar’s circulation on the island. Now there is the 10 percent penalty on the dollar, but all other foreign currencies circulate freely.

Castro also blasted Obama’s support for the 47-year old embargo. "He did not invent it, but he made it his own" wrote Castro, " just like ten other U.S. presidents. As he goes down that road, you can predict his certain failure, just like that of all his predecessors."

‘Kills any hope I have of change’
Castro’s stance doesn’t surprise young Cubans, such as Miguelito Levy, who peddles art and antiques to tourists in Old Havana.

"What will this government do when the hostilities end, when there’s no one left to blame and there’s still no money to buy anything?" said Levy.

Hitch hiking a ride to an early morning physics class at Havana University, Leonid Morales heard a radio announcer read Fidel Castro’s blog. "Well," he shrugged, "that kills any hope I have of change."

But Castro supporter Juan González believes that despite today’s harsh words, he is convinced that the government will work towards achieving a thaw in relations with the U.S. González, who shared the trenches with Castro’s rebels in the late 1950s, says it’s time to be pragmatic.

"I used to think any type of concession on our part equaled surrender to the Americans. But both sides will have to give up something," said González.

"We can’t pretend anymore. With American companies and tourists coming here, life would be easier for us. And won’t trade help the U.S. economy at a time when you need a boost?"

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